


Goodbye

by helens78



Series: You Say Goodbye (I Say Hello) [1]
Category: Batman (Movies - Nolan), Superman Returns (2006)
Genre: Gen, One of My Favorites
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-09-13
Updated: 2006-09-13
Packaged: 2017-10-05 20:08:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helens78/pseuds/helens78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was too hard to say goodbye to Lois, but not Batman.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> A little bit of _Superman II_ mixed in. This happens pre-_Superman Returns_.

"Thanks for meeting me."

Halfway; Batman had managed to turn around halfway before Superman started speaking. He was getting better at that -- noticing the way the winds changed, listening for the incoming rush of his landing. Silent entrances and escapes were one of his trademarks, and he was damned if he was going to let a man wearing a bright blue and red costume upstage him in that arena.

"Of course," he said. "What can I do for you?"

"It's not that kind of a visit." Superman shook his head, but he wasn't grinning. Bad sign. Something serious was going on -- but not something that required help.

_He needs advice?_ Batman wondered if Superman was losing his mind. Surely there were other confidantes; the two of them had never been on exactly the same page with much of anything, so this seemed... wrong, somehow.

He stayed quiet, and eventually Superman cleared his throat. "I wanted to tell you -- in person -- that I'm going to be gone for a while."

"Gone where?" Batman asked. Find out the facts first. Reasons would follow.

"Off Earth," Superman said. He managed to keep eye contact, but from the stiffness in his posture it was clearly uncomfortable to do so. "I was contacted by a team of astronomers who believe they've found Krypton. Or where Krypton should have been. I need to see it for myself."

"How long will it take you to get there?"

"I don't know. A while." Superman crossed his arms over his chest and bent his head to look at his feet, then caught himself and looked back up at Batman. "I won't be traveling under my own power, if that's what you're wondering. If there's... debris... it could be dangerous."

"Glad you're taking that into account. There's a difference between being completely invulnerable and being completely invulnerable... except for Kryptonite."

"I never thought I was--" Superman stopped, shook his head. "Never mind."

"What's the other reason?" Batman asked. Superman met his eyes again, stiffening even more. "You love Earth too much to go chasing after ghosts for their own sake. What's the other reason you're going?"

Superman turned around and looked up at the sky, but Batman wasn't concerned; if Superman were intending to leave mid-conversation, he'd be gone already. He stayed that way for a while, but finally turned back to Batman, arms falling to his sides. "I made a mistake," he said quietly. "I did something I'm... not proud of. And I'm not sure I can make it right. I think the best thing to do is to be away for a while."

"I hope you didn't come here thinking I'd agree with you."

Superman's eyes widened. Just a little; not enough anyone else would have noticed. "What do you..."

"Running from your problems isn't the answer." It was difficult to imagine anything Superman might have done that would make him think leaving Earth was the best response. If he'd killed someone, it would have been all over the news; maybe it had something to do with the Kryptonians he'd put away recently. He'd taken a while to respond to the crisis, but even superheroes couldn't be everywhere at once. Batman was all too familiar with that particular regret. "Whatever you've done, leaving won't resolve anything."

"It probably won't." Superman shook his head. "But neither will staying. Not this time."

The silence stretched out long enough even Batman felt an urge to close it off somehow; turn and go, ask something else... reach out, maybe, to a man who seemed as if he needed it. "How long will you be gone?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. Not forever."

"The world has a tendency to forget its heroes," Batman said. Metropolis wasn't Gotham, but some truths were universal. "You won't be coming back to the same place you left."

"I guess we never do, do we?" Superman said. "Thank you for meeting me--"

"Wait." Batman grabbed Superman by the forearm before he could take off, startling Superman into looking back. Batman met his wide-eyed look evenly; compassion wasn't normally his area, but this time it felt like the right thing to offer.

He let go.

"Some things won't change," he said. "_I_ won't change. And Metropolis will still need you."

Superman smiled -- only a little, but enough to change his whole face. Batman could see it, then, the guardian, the protector, the man Metropolis was going to miss. And the fact that underneath all of it, he was still a man. Just one man.

"Take care," Superman told him, and he reached for the sky, hands curling into fists as he left the earth behind.

"I always do," Batman murmured. And because, if he were Superman, he'd be listening for any last words, he added, "You do the same."

_-end-_


End file.
